Supreme Court joins National Judicial Data Grid: Here's how it works

National Judicial Data Grid is a national portal that holds real-time information and data on all cases, pending and disposed, by courts across the country

Chief Justice DY Chandrachud has announced that the Supreme Court is now officially on board with the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG). This move, carried out under the court's "open data policy," opens up real-time data access regarding case pendency in courts across India. Here is how the data grid works.

 

What is the National Judicial Data Grid?

 

National Judicial Data Grid is a national portal that holds real-time information and data on all cases pending and disposed of by courts nationwide. This includes High Courts as well as district and Taluka Courts, and now the Supreme Court of India.

 

 

Those visiting the official NJDG web portal can access ancillary information such as "analytical-comparative statistics of institution, pendency and disposal of cases, data of various categories of Benches and number of judges on a bench (Coram), details of registered and unregistered cases, age-wise break-up of cases in a transparent manner," as stated on the website.

 

Navigating the NJDG Dashboard
 

The dashboard on the site is divided into three sections – "At a Glance," "Pending Dashboard," and "Disposed Dashboard."

 

National Judicial Data Grid at a glance

In this tab, web portal visitors can see the number of pending cases in the current year, categorised under civil and criminal cases, and the total pendency of registered and unregistered cases. It also shows the number of cases that are still defective and defects are not cured by the lawyers yet.

There is also data on the number of cases instituted and disposed of in the previous month and also in the current year. Coram-wise pendency of cases can also be seen, i.e. three judges, five judges, seven judges, and nine judges.

At a Glance, NJDG (Photo: NJDG)

 

 

Pending dashboard

The number of pending cases, both registered and unregistered, can be seen on the pending dashboard. Moreover, a graph can be seen showing the pendency of cases year-wise based on the type of case (criminal, civil, and both).

Pending Dashboard, NJDG (Photo: NJDG)

 

 

Disposed dashboard

The "Disposed Dashboard" provides year-wise data on the number of disposed cases. This is arranged according to case type – criminal, civil, and both- as well as manner of disposal. This page also shows the time it took to dispose of cases. Notably, the data shows that 75.32 per cent of cases in 2023 were resolved within a year.

Disposed Dashboard, NJDG (Photo: NJDG)

 

 

Why was the NJDG launched?

 

The NJDG is regarded as a flagship project of the E-Courts Mission. This platform was developed through collaboration between the National Informatics Centre and the in-house IT team of the Supreme Court. This aimed to transform the way legal data is accessed, analysed, and utilised.

 

Chief Justice of India, D Y Chandrachud, announced that data from the Supreme Court will be updated on the NJDG portal in real-time, making comprehensive information about the Supreme Court, its case disposals, and pending cases readily available to users.

 

How does the NJDG ensure transparency?

 

The Supreme Court's move to the NJDG occurred under the court's "open data policy". This allows for real-time data access concerning case pendency across courts throughout India. The inclusion of the Supreme Court's data is poised to revolutionise the accessibility and analysis of legal data, offering numerous benefits for the legal community and the general public, according to a report by the Hindu.

 

The portal allows users to access detailed information about the institution, disposal, and pendency of cases in various categories, including type, year, stage, and forum.

 

The information can also be arranged by categories such as case type, year, stage, and forum.

 

Additionally, the NJDG provides informative graphs that offer insights into case trends, enabling users to visualise the impact of vacation periods and track case statistics.

 

Valuable information for the Chief Justice

 

Aside from users, the chief justice also benefits from this portal as it offers a real-time view of the pending cases. This can allow the chief justice to prioritise cases. According to a report by Live Law, Chief Justice Chandrachud also indicated that special three-judge Benches would be formed to expedite the clearance of pending cases.

 

The chief justice said, "There are just about less than 100 cases pending before the year 2000. This gives data tool for the Chief Justice to reorganise work so that we can dispose of the oldest cases. Some benches will pick up these matters. 3-judge matters we have 583 cases. I am proposing to constitute special benches to deal with these cases."

 

As of September 14,  the total pendency of registered cases and unregistered cases in 2023 are 64,854 and 15,490 respectively. Last month, 5,412 cases were instituted and 5,033  cases were disposed.